Biking the Loire Valley in 5 Days • Read Now!

France, country of wine, castles and gastronomy.
What if there was a way to experience all aspects at once? And to move your body?
Read along our guide to biking the Loire Valley.

🚲 · 🍷 · 🏰

5 days · 238 kms · Tours -> Angers

Trip Overview

The Loire is the last wild river of France and runs over 1,000 kms. It is covered in wineries, castles and France decided to adapt a bicycle road alongside it. It’s also the starting path of the EuroVélo 6, which runs from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. Click here to see all EuroVélo routes.

Biking the Loire Valley in a Nutshell

Day 1: Tours → Nazelles

28.8 km / 17.9 mi
After getting our road bikes from Cycles Cesbron in Les-Ponts-de-Cé, we took the train from Angers to Tours.
From there, we biked about 25kms to Camping Les Patîs, where we had a hut booked.

The camping has a lovely food truck during Summer, so we had a deliciously local dinner, along with a few local beers.

A few tips

• Cycles Cesbron is the only shop offering road bikes, it’s also why we hired there.
• We brought our own seat- and frame bike packs, but you can rent a luggage transfer service bringing your bags to your next accommodation, daily.

Day 2: Nazelles → Restigné

74.2 km / 46 mi

We left the campground at around 10am and passed by the Château d’Amboise as we headed west along the riverside of the Loire.

For lunch, a charming place called “À la Soupette de Mémère” offered a lovely outdoor space by the water, where we enjoyed a delicious fresh salad and a crepe.

It’s very close to the Château de Villandry, so I highly recommend visiting both places!

After visiting some more castles, we had the opportunity to do a wine tasting at the Château de Minière. It was only a 5-minute bike ride away from our next accommodation, the Dixmeresse. The rooms are very comfortable, of Victorian style, and they all include bathtubs in the middle of the room.

Dinner at Dixmeresse was tasty, but I don’t think it’s worth the price of €36 for half board per person, excluding drinks.

Day 3: Restigné → Candes-St-Martin

63 km / 39.1 mi

We prolongated this etape (originally 20km/12mi) by passing through:

• Château d’Ussé, aka the castle of Sleeping Beauty, or la Belle au Bois Dormant
• Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, one of the must-visit!
• Forteresse de Chinon
• Chinon city center is also a must-visit!

I recommend taking one or two hours to chill in Chinon city center as it is absolutely gorgeous, but very hilly.

Our accommodation was booked at Camping Les Terres de Belle-Rive, which you have to organize via email with.

We had dinner at the Caza Pizza, a pizza truck right next to our accommodation, before taking an evening stroll in Candes-St-Martin. It is one of the “beautiful villages of France” for a reason!

Day 4: Candes-St-Martin → Blaison-St-Sulpice

56.8km / 35.3mi

We arrived in an oasis of peace and quiet for our last night, Le Manoir de Jouralem. Everything was just perfect: the room is spacious, there is a natural outdoor swimming pool, they have chickens freely roaming around, a huge library with books in English and board games.

While they don’t offer dinner, the host Hywel prepared a superb charcuterie board that was big enough for both of us. Wines are for sale; reds at the reception, and whites in the fridge, and you pay for all upon check-out. Everything is just accessible. What a dream!

Day 5: Blaison-St-Sulpice → Les-Ponts-de-Cé

16.2km / 10mi

This day was only to give back the bikes before getting to our train. We took our time in the morning as the B&B was incredibly cozy. Obviously, breakfast was absolutely delicious – well done, Hywel and Mel, what a dream you have built!

Hope you enjoyed! If you have any feedback or questions,
I would love to hear them in the comments. Cheers!

Looking for more adventures? Check out our Hut-to-Hut Hiking Trip in Slovenia!